Homemaking Tips for new Homemakers

When I first started homemaking, I made a few mistakes. Here I’ve written 7 tips for new homemakers so you can avoid some of the challenges I faced when I first started homemaking.

Until you are a homemaker yourself, it’s highly likely that you don’t even realize half of what goes into making a home. A lot of people seem to think it’s just keeping your home clean and tidy, but there’s a lot of other things to think about too.

Being a hostess, cooking, baking, cleaning, managing the finances, keeping all documentation safe and organized, etc. are all a homemakers responsibility unless you and your partner have a particular arrangement.

It can be overwhelming if those are things you’re not necessarily used to doing. It was definitely a learning curve for me having to manage all the finances and paperwork, when I’d never done it to that scale before.

Here are 7 tips I hope will help you on your way to being the best homemaker you can be!

Homemaking tips for new homemakers

Don’t expect to learn everything straight away

Homemaking is very much an art. If you haven’t grown up in a family of homemakers, it’s going to take you a little longer to adapt and know your roles like the back of your hand.

Homemaking takes skill and knowledge, and you can’t expect to have that straight away. It takes time to become a master of your own home. If you follow a very traditional role in homemaking, you not only organize and manage your home and your own schedule, but you manage your partners and your children’s schedules too.

Don’t expect to create a home in a day.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your home be. If you go ahead and buy everything you need – what you think you need – and want in one shopping spree, the likelihood is you won’t be happy with it in 6 months time.

It takes time to build a home you love and cherish. It took your parents and their parents to create the home they have now, with all the little memories and trinkets.

Don’t force it, it’ll come in time and you’ll be so much happier with it.

Never underestimate the power of understanding your laundry

Never think of your laundry as “shove it in the machine and it’ll be clean when it comes out”. You’ll end up with ore shrunken and ruined clothes than you think possible.

Take the time it takes to become a master of your laundry pile. Learn what materials need what temperatures. Always have a specific detergent for delicate and woollen items.

It may seem like going overboard, but you’ll thank me later! I made this very mistake in the beginning, and I managed to shrink items I never even thought would.

This also includes learning to manage your tumble dryer if you have one. It’s not enough to just put on the delicate cycle and put all your woolen items in it to dry.

Personally, I would recommend not putting woollen items in the tumble dryer at all. If you must, use your own judgement and know when to pull the garment out and hang to dry in the bathroom or somewhere it can be left to dry flat if need be.

Set up a routine

If you’re a homemaker, you 100% need a routine. I know some people go in thinking they have all the time in the word to do things as they’re home all day. That mindset does not work.

Time flies by faster than you think when you’re watching “just one more episode” of Jeremy Kyle. You end up not having time for anything before the school run, and in the end, it gives the reputation that housewives and homemakers don’t do anything all day. None of us wants that!

You need a routine. Preferably a daily routine, where you know exactly what needs doing every single day. This is best to do either in the morning or in the evening, or have a set morning routine and an evening routine.

You’ll then want a weekly and a monthly. You don’t need to deep clean the oven or flip the mattress every day, so those kind of tasks should be put into a weekly or monthly routine.

It’ll also save your sanity down the road!

Dress up every day

I certainly don’t mean you should be wearing a full face of makeup and pearls and heels, but don’t stay in your pajamas’s either!

It makes a tremendous difference to your motivation and mindset when you’ve got ready for the day. It makes you feel good inside if you feel good on the outside, don’t you think?

Wear something practical and comfy but also something like you’re slightly expecting company and wouldn’t mind being seen in your outfit.

I made this mistake too, and the amount of times I had unexpected visitors which I really would have preferred to dress up a bit for is crazy. I swear they were doing it on purpose!

If you have pets, make sure you know proper husbandry

Have a dog or cat? Make sure you know how to neutralize their smells and get rid of as much of their shed fur as possible. You know when you find a clump of shed fur, it’s definitely time to get the vacuum out!

You’d be amazed at how many people develop an allergy to their pets simply because they don’t have a good enough cleaning routine regarding their pet. Getting your pet groomed or doing it yourself is also a good idea.

If you have outdoor pets with huts, coops, or runs, make sure you know how to clean and care for them too. I have a post on changing the bedding for your chicken coop, but actually cleaning the chicken coop is very different.

Make sure you know all aspects of their care. It’s not just making sure they have food and water.